Black Butler: Black Love
by BlueRaven 666
Summary: To end the feuding of the Lucifer & Faustus families Claude must pair with one of Satan's children and there's only one person left for him to court: Sebastian Can the two enemies learn to love each other enough to mate and produce a child or will they keep going in circles?What happens when things fall apart? WARNINGS: Sebastian X Claude, OCs, MPreg, OOCness, fluff, PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The feud between the Faustus family and the Lucifer family is as old as time itself. Never mind the fact that raven demons and spider demons weren't the most harmonious of couples; the families just didn't get along. The Faustus family was one of upper nobility; the head of the house, Crocell Faustus, was an Archduke with Claude Faustus as his heir. The Lucifer family were royals with Satan Lucifer positioned at the throne; as he'd been since his banishment from Heaven. The lord of the realm had many children and no particular favorites, although it couldn't be hidden that he greatly preferred his youngest son, Michaelis.

Both families knew something had to be done about their feuding. Several wars had been fought, either because of a mere insult or a dirty look to another. The wars always ended in a draw to avoid serious casualties to both sides and to show they wouldn't go so far as to destroy each other completely. The amount of fighting that was seen was bad; that's why the heads of both families decided to find a way to call a truce and restore peace between the two families to avoid further conflict, though they both knew what the solution was going to be.

"Are you sure you wish to do this, you're Majesty?" Crocell asked Satan.

The two powerful demons sat across from each other at a round table in Lucifer's throne room to privately discuss their options.

"If we are to bury the hatchet, good and proper, it's the only option we have." Satan replied.

"And what do your children think of all of this? What does Michaelis think?"

Satan let out a heavy sigh, "I haven't told any of them yet, and Michaelis is the only one left without a mate. It depends which one of your sons or daughters is willing to take him."

"I'm afraid I can only offer my eldest son, Claude. He might be laid up in bed with a stab wound at the moment, and he might have a bit of a grudge against Michaelis for stabbing him, but he's the only one of my children that hasn't tried to murder a member of your family just for sport."

"I don't think Michaelis and Claude would make a harmonious couple. What's to stop them from trying to kill each other?"

"Another war, most likely." Crocell replied, "Besides, Claude knows I've come here to discuss pairing him with one of your children, and he knows very well that Michaelis is one of your children and that he doesn't have a mate. He might not like Michaelis now because there was a human soul in the picture before. If we take the soul _out _of the equation, I see way they can at least _try_ to bond."

Satan let out another sigh, "Talk to Claude about it and give me his answer as soon as you can. In the meantime, I'll discuss things with Michaelis."

Crocell nodded and rose to leave, "I'll be relieved if I talk to Claude about it. Michaelis is a good man."

* * *

Claude lay in his bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. His father had yet to return from Satan Lucifer's castle with the news of who'd he be partnered with. He hoped his father hadn't done something incredibly stupid and gotten himself executed; that would be the last thing anyone in his family would want to happen, especially after what Sebastian had done to him.

Claude groaned in pain as the wound in his chest burned, stung and ached in multiple places. Even though it had healed to the point where one couldn't see that the sword had run him completely through, it still hurt like hell.

There was knock at his bedroom door and a maid trotted in.

"Excuse me, sir," she said softly, "I've come to change your bandages."

Claude let out a sigh and managed to sit up, "Fine, then."

The maid carefully unwrapped the old bandage from around his torso and took a minute to examine the wound.

"Looks like it's getting better." She commented.

"Finally . . ." Claude muttered to himself.

The maid wrapped the clean bandages around his torso carefully.

"Are you excited to know who your partner will be, sir?" she asked.

Excited might have not been the word Claude would have used to describe how he felt about being told who his partner would be, but he'd be lying if he'd said he was dreading the moment he found out.

"I suppose you could say that." Claude replied, "It might be a Lucifer that I'll be paired with, but whoever he or she is, I want to love and protect them at all cost."

From behind him, Claude heard a familiar chuckle.

"I'm so glad you feel that way son. It'll make it a hell of a lot easier to tell you, now."

Claude turned his head to find his father standing at the door with a smirk plated on his face. Claude and his father looked very much alike with short black hair and golden eyes. They were both quite tall and well-built and normally didn't show much emotional expression, as spider demons tended to do.

"So . . ." Claude said as the maid finished bandaging him and trotted out of the room, "Did you and Satan pair me with someone?"

Crocell nodded, "We did."

"Who is it?"

There was a hesitant pause, "You might want to lay back down for this one, son."

Claude had always found out that it was never a good thing when his father said things like that. He did as he was told and moved back to laying down in his bed; his upper body propped up by a mound of goose-down pillows.

Crocell settled himself beside him.

"Satan and I have found a partner for you." He said, "But I'm pretty sure you're not going to like who it is."

"Who is it?" Claude repeated.

"Michaelis."

Claude's eyes widened, "Michaelis?! As in 'Sebastian' Michaelis?!"

Crocell nodded, "That'd be the one."

"No! I can't accept this; I _won't _accept this! I mean, do you _really_ expect me to . . . _Ow_!"

Claude groaned in pain as his wound started to act up because of his ranting. It ached terribly.

"Calm yourself, boy!" Crocell warned, "Don't exhaust yourself."

Claude let out a sigh, "Do you really expect me to go through with pairing with him; the one who did _this_ to me?"

"If you want to be the one to end this feud, then yes, I do."

* * *

"You're serious?"

Sebastian stood before his father as the demon ruler broke the news to him.

"I'm completely serious, Michaelis. You are to be paired with Claude Faustus, if he accepts."

The young demon let out a huff, "And what make you so sure that he _will _accept?"

"I'm not sure, but the Faustus family wants this feud to end just as badly as we do, so there is the slightest possibility that he will accept."

"And have you forgotten what I did to that blasted spider demon? I ran him straight through the chest with a demon sword. I don't think he'll forgive me for that so easily."

At that moment a servant entered the room.

"News from Lord Faustus. Claude has accepted your offer."

Sebastian ran a hand through his ebony hair, which now stretched down to the small of his back. Large, black wings sprouted from his back and the longest feathers dragged on the floor just behind his high-heeled boots.

"I need to think about this." He said as he walked out of the room, "I'm going for a walk."

And Sebastian did walk. He walked into the woods that stretched far behind the castle until he found his favorite part of the woods where a dead, hollowed out tree stood.

He crawled into an opening in the tree where he was partly hidden and he let his mind wander.

He wouldn't have cared about being paired with Claude so much if the spider demon hadn't gotten in his way in the past. Sebastian was surprised when he found out he was still alive and he knew he was the reason Claude was still in bed, recovering from the stab wound in his chest. He wondered what would happen once they saw each other face to face. Would Claude try to kill him? Hurt him? Would he yell? Would he not care? Or would he just let everything go for the sake of ending a feud and they could start over?

Sebastian crawled out of the tree and spread out in an opening where the sun was shining to bask. The heat beat down on his face and torso, and suddenly a nap sounded heavenly. Perhaps things will look better once he slept on it a while.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Claude layed in bed for hours, continuing his persistent staring at the ceiling as he thought about what he just did. Both his and Sebastian's fate were sealed. It wasn't how Claude had wanted to choose his partner, but he knew it was better than having another war start just because someone wanted to pick a fight.

Of course Claude was still angry about Sebastian running him through the chest. He was angry because the raven demon had defeated him in battle. He was angry from when Sebastian had managed his way into the Trancy estate. Come to think of it, Claude couldn't think of one reason that he liked Sebastian.

Claude sat up in his bed and managed to his feet. He was tired of being on bed rest for a wound that was healing well. Through bouts of pain, he slipped into a pair of form fitting trousers and a shirt that could hide his bandages. In his demon form, a set of eight long, black, and quite large spider legs branched out from his back. With these legs he could easily scale any surface, trap anything his webs couldn't, attack anything that crossed his path. But as strong and powerful and dangerous as the legs were, the eight limbs could also be gentle and tender enough to cradle the most fragile object with delicate care.

Claude did his best to exit the manor without being seen, and he headed into the nearby wooded area to go for a walk.

He liked it outside. There were many places for him to explore and new sights and sounds and smells. His long legs quietly helped him scurry along until he came to a dead tree; his favorite tree. To him it marked the division line between his land and the land of the Lucifer family.

He went to explore the hollowed out inside of the tree when . . . he got a strange feeling. The foot of the tree, where the opening was, smelled as thought there'd been another demon there recently. Claude ran his hand along the inner wood of the tree and took in the foreign scent.

"Sebastian was here?" he inquired to himself.

It was then that the spider demon turned around to find the raven demon sprawled across a small clearing. He appeared to be sleeping, and with the combination of cool grass and the warm summer sum, it was understandable.

Claude perched himself in a tree and took in the sight of Sebastian sleeping. His enormous black wings were unfolded and spread across the grass. One hand lay across his chest while the other lay beside him and was positioned at the level of his eyes. One leg was bent at a slight angle at the knee, while the other lay flat on the ground. The features on his face were relaxed. The lashes of his eyes brushed low against his face. His long black hair spread across the grass like a black silk sheet. His mouth was agape slightly and his chest rose and fell ever so slowly . . . gently . . . steadily.

For a moment, Claude was able to see all of the angelic traits Sebastian had inherited from his father, and he took great pleasure as he continued to watch the raven demon continue to sleep.

Suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping caught Claude's attention. The spider demon whipped his head to the side and saw three other men perched in the trees, armed with large nets and crossbows and knives. Claude felt his blood run cold at the knowledge of what they were about to do.

One of the men threw a net on top of Sebastian's sleeping form.

Sebastian woke up to the startling suffocation of the net and he panicked. He tried to fly away from his attackers, which caused him to become more entangled in the net.

The men whistled and cheered, shouting, "We caught him! We caught him! We caught him!"

They leaped down from the trees and watched as Sebastian continued to struggle.

"How much do you think old Lucifer will pay to get his favorite child back?" one of them asked.

"We'll be rich!" another one cackled.

They were demons of the lowest rank; scum from the Wastelands of Hell. They were the type to do anything for money, and this time they had gotten the gall to attack a member of the royal family.

Quietly, Claude spun multiple webs around Sebastian. It didn't take long for one of the men to get caught in the web, and then another, and another. They screamed and cursed as the sticky web wrapped around them until they were completely cocooned in the spider's thread and could no longer move.

Claude turned his attention back to Sebastian, who now lay limp and unresponsive in the net. The spider demon became worried. He hadn't seen the attackers use their weapons or drug the raven demon in any way. But he thought about how much Sebastian had been struggling in the net and how hard he attempted to claw and fly his way out. It wasn't until then that Claude pieced together that Sebastian had passed out from exhaustion.

Carefully, he began to work the netting loose with his spider-like limbs until Sebastian fell limply into his arms. The expressions on his face were no longer peaceful and resting. Sebastian looked terrified; terrified in the way that showed that he'd been caught off guard and Claude could only wonder what would have happened if he hadn't decided to take a walk into the woods that day.

* * *

Claude carried Sebastian all the way back to Satan Lucifer's palace along with the lowlife scum demons that had attacked him. The attackers now sat in a prison cell, awaiting their execution.

Sebastian had been carried to his bedroom and was being doted over by half of his brothers and sisters, while the other half doted over Claude. They were all grateful for what he had done to save Sebastian and bring him home. Even Satan had dipped his head in respect to the spider demon. But Claude did wonder what had happened in the attack that had rendered Sebastian completely powerless to fight back. Was it the net? Had he been secretly drugged? Did one of the attackers put a spell on him to keep him from fighting back?

It was when he had this many questions that Claude decided he just wouldn't let the topic slide and he asked Satan about it, personally.

"Michaelis is extremely claustrophobic." The demon ruler explained, "The net most likely made him feel as if he was being suffocated and he panicked. With his guard as low as it had been, it's easy to understand why."

Claude thought back to when Sebastian was still sleeping in the small clearing in the woods. It was probably the first time he had ever seen him in a complete state of relaxation and peace and he wondered how often the young prince was in this state. He had to admit he liked "Sleeping Sebastian" better than "Run-a-Sword-Through-the-Chest Sebastian".

"I'd better be leaving now." Claude said, "I left my father's mansion without him knowing. He probably has every one of our servants searching for me right now."

"With the injury that you have, that wouldn't surprise me." Satan remarked, "I would take care of it, if I were you. Wounds from demon swords are no laughing matter."

Claude scoffed, "Try telling Michaelis that sometime."

He began to make his way out of the castle, with a number of Sebastian's siblings still following him and thanking him for what he'd done to save Sebastian. They all seemed to vanish as another demon approached from ahead. Claude was surprised to find Sebastian out of bed and walking again.

The raven demon eyes were fixed on the floor with his arms holding his body, as if he were uncomfortable.

Just before that could pass each other, Sebastian stopped beside him.

"Claude . . ."

Claude couldn't help but narrow his eyes, "Michaelis . . ."

Sebastian let out an irritated sigh, "Thank you for saving my arse back there."

The raven demon said it in a way that would make one think he was going to be sick.

"It was nothing." Claude said, and just before Sebastian could walk away he added, "You look a lot less deadly in your sleep."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sebastian's frustrated shouts filled the mansion as he unleashed all of his rage on various objects in his room. He tore down paintings from the walls and threw them across the room. He did the same to his vast collection of books, which included works from Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe. He overturned furniture, broke vases, and shredded his curtains, bed sheets, and pillows.

Some of Sebastian's siblings and servants watched in fear as his tantrum went on and he screamed until his voice grew hoarse. None of them had seen him get _this_ upset. Of course any demon that had had its pride damaged acted this way. Sebastian's reason: he had been caught with his guard lowered and Claude saw everything.

Sebastian eventually flopped down onto his tattered bed and spread out across the mattress.

"Leave me be!" he growled to the onlookers that stood at the door.

Everyone that had been standing there instantly scurried away. Only one demon named Lilith stayed behind. Lilith was Sebastian's mother, and she adored every one of her children; Michaelis most of all. She was a beautiful woman long, dark brown hair and crimson eyes. She had full red lips and an hourglass figure that had never once been constricted and tampered with by a corset.

Lilith sat herself at the edge of Sebastian's bed and rested a hand on his cheek.

"Are you going to tell me what that was about?" she asked him.

Sebastian let out a frustrated sigh, "It's about Claude. I'm so stupid. How could I have let him see me like that?"

"It's not his fault, nor is it yours. You should be grateful to him, Michaelis. If it weren't for him, you could have wound up severely injured, or worse. Those scum demons could have done any number of things to you."

Sebastian rolled onto his side and looked at his mother rather pitifully.

"What's with the look?" she inquired.

"I don't have to mate with him, do I? I don't like him, and he doesn't like me."

Lilith let out a small chuckle, "Your father and I weren't the most harmonious couple, either. A fallen angel paired with a she-demon? Who'd ever heard of such a thing? I hated your father more than anything in the world."

"And yet you were still able to stand to bare his children; hundreds of them. How?"

"Well, I found out your father was the _only_ man I could ever stand to be near, and I _learned_ to love him from there."

"I don't think I can _learn_ to love Claude, though."

"Try to cherish the little moments you have together; the moments when you laugh together, the moments when you cry and he's there to comfort you, the moments where you're holding each other, and the moments where you don't care that you're different. It could blossom into something beautiful."

Sebastian rolled onto his back again and sighed.

"I'm still angry. I want to kill something."

"Well, your father was planning to execute those scum demons soon. Do you want to help him?"

Sebastian let out a chuckle, "Do I want to help him? Please, I'll behead them, myself."

But even as he began to walk towards the prison cells, Sebastian could still hear Claude's voice mocking him. It was what he'd said when Ciel Phantomhive had ordered the raven demon's out of his sights and he had been seen.

_"He saw you! He saw you! You let him see you!"_

"He saw me when my guard was lowered; when I was weak . . . Mark my words, it will never happen again!"

* * *

Claude laid in bed once again, staring blankly up at the ceiling as he listened to his father rant.

"I can't believe you snuck out of this mansion!" Crocell growled, "With your injury as bad as it still is, you should remain in your bed until the wound no longer bothers you!"

"I know." Claude muttered.

"I realize lying about in bed is pretty boring for you, but at least take an escort with you if you wish to go somewhere . . . Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah . . . I was listening."

Crocell sighed, "No, you're not. You have something else on your mind, don't you?"

Claude couldn't help but nod, "I saved Prince Michaelis today."

Crocell rolled his eyes, "You were just dreaming."

"_No_, I wasn't."

Claude explained what happened in the woods in thorough detail; too much detail for Crocell to accuse Claude of dreaming. The younger spider demon was able to describe what Sebastian had been doing, what he'd done, and what had happened to Sebastian's attackers.

Crocell wound up being the one to drop the argument and leave the room.

Meanwhile, the shy maid returned to check Claude's wound and change the bandages once again.

"Tell me . . ." Claude suddenly said to the maid, "Have you ever met Michaelis Lucifer?"

The maid shuffled on her feet nervously, "Only once."

"What was he like?"

The maid blushed lightly and shrugged, "He's handsome and smart and wise."

One of Sebastian's infamous one-night stands with a woman he needed information form. Claude could only guess not even the she-demons are safe. Then again, if a lowly servant refused to tell a high-ranking noble something they wanted to know—even if they weren't their masters—it was what they could expect to happen to "persuade" them. But still, Claude could tell the maid was holding _something else_ back.

"Tell me how you really feel, Claire."

Claire sighed heavily, "Michaelis is . . . _different_. He's not like normal demons. He's able to bond easily and has at least half a heart . . . and he knows what it's like to be a servant, and a loyal one at that."

"Tell me something I don't know. The son of a fallen angel; how could he _not _be different?"

"Do you think you'll be able to go through with pairing with him?"

For once, Claude didn't know the answer to that question. He knew how to let go of a grudge, but he didn't know how to deal with someone who was different. His apathetic nature made him hard to approach. Then again, Claude had seen Sebastian's apathetic side multiple times.

"Only time will tell." Claude finally said, "When my wound's healed and we're forced to see more of each other, only time will tell."

* * *

Sebastian lay amidst what some would describe as a horror scene. Death came in the purest form when it came to executions in Hell. The bodies of the demons that had attacked Sebastian were torn up beyond recognition. Their blood painted the floor and the walls of the room they had been killed in, and Sebastian was bathing in the thickest patches, soaking in the maroon liquid.

Satan let out a dark chuckle from a nearby corner, "Satisfied?"

Sebastian's hair was matted with blood and gore; his wings in much the same condition. The blood was spattered across his face and was caked onto his hands. The entrails of the attackers were wrapped around his neck like a scarf and he held the head of the demon that had thrown the net on top of him between his hands.

"I think so." He replied, "I'm not angry anymore."

"You _can't_ get like this every time Claude says something nice to you. The servants are going to have a hell of a time cleaning this place up, and they're going to have even more fun giving you a bath."

Sebastian let out a huff as he sat up in the middle of the bloodbath he created.

"It's just hard for me to accept the fact that Claude saved me; that he had seen me weak; afraid. How does that compare to the Michaelis that ran a demon sword through his chest?"

"You aren't weak, if that's what you're telling me." Satan said, "I remember a certain demon returning home with the wings of Ashe Landers in his arms. And I also remember a certain demon that had been gravely injured by a Grime Reaper's death scythe and was still able to stand on both feet and walk in a straight line. Now whoever could _that_ have been?"

"Ah, but that demon also risked his life for a hum, and he also grows distracted just because a cat wanders into the area."

"Every demon has their quirks and oddities about them. Look at Claude Faustus, for example; the demon who knits doilies and talks to birds."

Sebastian layed back down on the blood-soaked ground and laughed, "I suppose you're right there."

"So . . . ? Are you willing to let Claude into your life?"

A heavy, defeated sigh left Sebastian's mouth, "I suppose I don't have a choice. I'll need a bath, though."

Satan chuckled, "I'll gather a few servants to clean up here, and I'll have one follow you to the bathroom."

"Why must they follow me?"

"Look at yourself, son! You're covered head to toe in the blood of scum demons. The moment you walk out of here, you're going to track it all over the mansion."

Sebastian nodded and proceeded out the door.

The head of every demon that caught sight of Sebastian followed him as he passed by. The servant that was told he would be bathing the prince had his mouth drop to the floor and his eyes wandered down the hallways as he noticed the bloody boot prints of the prince could be tracked all the way back to the prison area.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"I've been invited into the Lucifer palace?"

The news that Satan Lucifer had requested Claude to come into his castle came as quite a shock to the Faustus family. Crocell had been informed by a servant, and he had been one to tell Claude shortly after.

However, with Claude still injured the head of the Faustus family felt unsettled by the invitation; even though they were certain that the raven demons wouldn't bring him any harm. Why would they be so eager to welcome Claude into their home and into their lives?

"Perhaps Sebastian has finally accepted the inevitable." Claude hummed to himself.

Crocell stood in the doorway to Claude's room with an uneasy look on his face.

"They've requested that you come right away, if you're fit to travel. Are you fit to travel, Claude?"

Claude thought about the question for a moment as he gazed up at his spidery limbs, which seemed to curve inward on him like the bars to a massive cage. He stretched them out and attempted to sit up. He winced at the sharp pain in his chest, but was otherwise able to manage to get to his feet.

"I'll be fine, father." He said, "Just give me some time to get ready."

Crocell nodded and left the room.

Claude dressed himself in what was deemed normal for upper nobility like him. He wore all black clothing that was made out of a smooth material and a black cloak with red embroidering. He observed himself in a mirror. No one would have suspected that he was injured; just as it should be. He slipped his feet into a pair of high-heeled leather boots and exited his bedroom to meet up with his father.

They boarded a carriage that was being pulled by four hellish horses. The pigment to the beasts' skin was an unhealthy, ugly grey color. Their bones could be seen through their skin and their eyes were white and cloudy. The carriage itself was something out of the common man's nightmare. It was black, yes, but it was excessively decorated with the bones of various humans and animals. Four skulls sat atop the carriage and the bones to many legs and arms lined each distinct edge, rib bones were placed to create a wave-like pattern around it. The skulls to various deer and oxen hung on the sides and clattered as the carriage was pulled about.

"How are you going to face him?" Crocell asked Claude, "Michaelis nearly killed you; I know you won't just let that go that easily."

"Maybe you're right, and I won't let it go." Claude said, "But I'm going to have to learn how to accept Michaelis somehow. And he'll have to learn how to accept me or else this isn't going to work."

* * *

The servants weren't at all merciful when it narrowed down to bathing Sebastian. After scrubbing him down with steel wool and nearly drowning him in boiling hot water for an hour, the bath water was now thoroughly saturated with blood and gore, as well as whatever feather Sebastian had lost while being bathed.

The prince was now clothed in his usual formal attire, which consisted of black clothing that hugged all of his skin, covering his neck, arms, and legs. Red, blue, and black gems set in silver adorned his neck and the heels to his boots were set so high he needed a slight platform under it to support him properly. Some parts of Sebastian's body stilled burned from being scrubbed viciously with steel wool. It was never that the prince couldn't bathe himself, but rather that he was royalty and was to be treated as such. At least being a servant in the human realm taught him how to handle some things on his own.

Sebastian dreaded stepping out of his bedroom. He dreaded today. He dreaded the fact Claude was coming over today. What was he going to say to him? How was he going to handle sharing the same space as him? How long would that even last? Would has mother be right and he'd learn to love Claude, or would it all end in another war?

Too many questions, which would trouble his mind as he settled down in a sofa in a sitting room for some peace and quiet until Claude arrived . . .

. . . Peace and quiet, which he was denied as the steady patter of little feet trotted towards him.

"Michaelis!" a small voice squeaked.

Sebastian couldn't help but crack a smile as he looked down at a small child-demon with short dark brown hair and glowing purple eyes. The little girl looked as if she were no older than six years old.

"What are you doing in here?" the child-demon inquired.

"I'm just waiting for Claude to show up." Sebastian replied.

"Is that the man you'll be mating with, big brother?"

Sebastian couldn't suppress the embarrassed blush that appeared on his face. This child . . . she probably wasn't even old enough to understand what mating even was, let alone understand the commitment that Sebastian would have to make to Claude if they indeed did mate.

"Well . . . maybe." Sebastian eventually replied, "For now, we're just paired together. It's a test to see if we'll be able to be a pair."

"Do you like Claude, or something?"

"Not really, no."

"Then why are you paired with him if you don't like him?"

"It's complicated . . ."

"Why?"

" . . . You're too young to understand just yet, Pandora. When you're a little older, you'll understand."

Pandora could only nod, "Okay . . . maybe you'll like Claude after he's here."

Sebastian sighed, "We'll see."

The sound of a carriage pulling up to the castle could be heard through a nearby window and signaled the beginning of the moment Sebastian had been dreading.

Pandora trotted over to the window to investigate and Sebastian came up alongside her as his eyes settled on the carriage. A servant opened a door and a man stepped out.

"Is that Claude?" Pandora asked.

"No, that's the Archduke of Faustus, Claude's father. _That's_ Claude."

Sebastian pointed to the second man to exit the carriage and Pandora let out a hum.

"He's not very handsome." She commented, "What kind of a demon has to wear glasses, big brother?"

Sebastian let out a laugh, "A blind one does. Now, why don't you go down and help show him around."

"But what about you?"

"I'm going to wait here for him. If we're going to be partners, there are a few problems we have to settle, first."

The door to the sitting room suddenly opened and Lilith stepped in, "A few problems to settle, yes; but you _will_ be there to greet him at the door, mister."

Sebastian was pushed to his feet and Lilith, Pandora, and perhaps five more of the raven demon's siblings and servants guided him down various hallways and stairways until he was greeted by another crowd that was pushing Claude along in the same manner.

The two demons stopped at the sight of each other and the whole area, which had been a chaotic clash of voices moments ago went suddenly silent. Sebastian stared Claude dead in the eye, and Claude did the same.

" . . . Claude." Sebastian managed to say.

" . . . Michaelis." Claude replied, "You're . . . looking well."

Sebastian swallowed a lump that was lodged in his throat, "And you as well."

"It's a pleasure to see you again."

Claude bowed and held out his hand.

All was silent as everyone anticipated Sebastian's next move. Would he accept Claude, or would he turn him away? Sebastian knew, of course, if he accepted Claude's hand he'd only be one step closer to being permanently paired with Claude. If he denied, however, it would be most likely that both families would become more forceful; trying to encourage the pairing and mating process.

The easy way or the hard way?

Sebastian admitted defeat, at least, and lowered his hand into Claude's, "It's a pleasure to see you again, too, Claude."

Claude lowered his head and gave a soft, gentle kiss on the top of the raven demon's hand.

Sebastian grimaced at the gesture and pulled his hand away from Claude swiftly.

"That's quite enough!" he snapped, "Don't be so eager!"

Claude gained a frustrated look on his face, a synchronized chorus of "oooohs" chimed from various members of the Faustus family, while members of the Lucifer family only stood in silence as they watched; they were like statues.

"Sebastian . . ." Claude said, "I hoped to make this easier for the both of us. If we could just forget our differences and start over, we can at least try to make this work."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed as he observed Claude. His behavior somehow reminded him of Agni; the butler he had met sometime back in the human realm.

He let out a soft sigh as he held out his hand, "Why don't we discuss this in a more private setting?"

Claude nodded and gladly took the prince's hand as he led the way back towards the sitting room he'd been in previously. Sebastian took the liberty of shutting the door and locking hit behind him.

"So what are we going to do from here?" Claude asked, "I know you hate me, which is going to complicate things if we're ever going to end this family feud."

Sebastian turned to Claude and strode up to him until he was standing toe to toe with the spider demon. A clawed finger trailed down the front of Claude's shirt, severing buttons from their threads and opening the shirt; exposing the crisp white bandages underneath. The claw undid the cloth that made up the bandage and unraveled it to reveal the wound.

"Looks like it's been healing well." He commented as his claws retracted and a finger gently traced the edges of the wound.

"It's gotten lots of attention." Claude stated, "My father makes sure it's being treated properly."

Sebastian carefully wrapped the wound again, "I really wish I could truthfully say you're looking well, too."

"Sebastian . . ." Claude said slowly, "I'm willing to drop the grudge I've had against you. I'm willing to forget everything if it means ending this feuding between our families. None of us can take the stress of it anymore. It needs to end!"

Sebastian let out a sigh, "I have nothing to be angry at you about anymore. Ciel Phantomhive is now an earl in Hell and he's able to handle himself; I've been freed of him."

"Then why are you still angry?"

"You killed your own master and tried to steal mine. It doesn't show any loyalty, trust, or faithfulness; something we're also going to need if we're going to end this feud. I still hold something against you for that."

"Oh, do you want me to apologize?" Claude asked sarcastically, "Do you want me on my knees, begging for your forgiveness and promising to remain faithful and loyal only to you?"

Sebastian turned away from him, "You are _vile_! Disgusting!"

"You're being stubborn, Sebastian! Why can't you just let I go? The dedication I've put into wanting to court you and putting an end to this feud has changed me!"

"Demons can't change, Claude! They can go crazy, but they can't change!"

The two demons yelled at each other back and forth until Sebastian already-hoarse voice grew too hoarse to go on anymore without completely losing his voice. The raven demon then left the room and stormed off towards his bedroom to calm down.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"So what happens now?"

Claude had returned to Satan, Crocell, and the rest of the castle with no success in courting Sebastian. Much to their dismay, it seemed Sebastian wouldn't be accepting Claude anytime soon. Now holed up in his bedchambers, they feared there was little more they could do to encourage Sebastian to accept Claude.

"We can only try to be a little more forceful with this," Satan said, "Or we'll just have to forget the pairing all together."

"Well, forcing myself onto him won't settle anything," Claude pointed out, "And forgetting all this when we've come this far won't settle the feud between our families."

The demons tried to think of a way for Claude to win Sebastian over long enough for the raven demon to listen to reason.

"There's only thing that's kept Michaelis in one place longer than a few minutes." Claude pointed out, "He's taken a great liking to the animals in the human realm known as cats."

Satan hummed over the suggestion.

"Michaelis has loved felines ever since he was a child. But a cat would never be able to survive in Hell."

A clever smirk settled on Claude's face, "Leave _that_ to me."

* * *

Sebastian had ultimately fallen asleep in his bedroom, and just as it had been in the woods, Claude found the sight stunning. The raven demon was sprawled across the mattress with his wings folded slightly. His silky black hair was scattered across the pillows; he looked just like he did in the woods that day.

Claude was precariously perched up in the rafters of the prince's bedchambers. He had woven a net out of his webs and had slipped it over four of his eight spidery limbs as he positioned himself over the bed. Despite Sebastian being claustrophobic, the spider demon was willing to go to extreme lengths to make him listen to reason.

Claude lowered himself from the rafters with his legs positioned and prepared to strike. He felt a little guilty that he was going to disrupt the raven's sleep . . . for only a moment though, and then the guilt left him. He pounced on top of Sebastian with a loud thud as his feet hit the floor and his web trapped the raven between it and the mattress.

Sebastian woke up to the air being knocked out of his lungs and he thrashed wildly as he felt what he thought was the net from the previous attack weigh him down.

"Relax, Sebastian!" Claude warned, "If you struggle, it will only get worse."

To no avail as Sebastian bucked Claude off of him and attempted to crawl out from under the web, but the web was sticky and held onto his wings, got in his face and it made it hard for him to see. Before he knew it he was so hopelessly tangled in the web that he couldn't even unfold his wings.

"Damn you, Claude Faustus!" Sebastian hissed, "What is the meaning of this? Let me go!"

Claude picked Sebastian up and carried him out of the castle.

"We're going to go somewhere else to talk things out, and this time I'll _make_ you listen to me."

* * *

Sebastian was settled down in a chair in the old Trancy mansion with a black cat napping happily on his lap. He gently stroked the creature's paws with his thumbs and he relished in the sound of its purrs. Claude was sitting beside him; possibly the closest the spider demon had managed to get to Sebastian thus far.

"Now will you let me explain myself, Sebastian?" he inquired.

Sebastian let out a loud sigh, "After jumping on me, capturing me, kidnapping me, and then giving me a cat to spoil . . . I'll do anything to avoid going through the torment again."

Claude nodded, "I know my killing my master and trying to steal yours was a vile act, and I'm sorry. But, if we make this work, you won't see such disloyalty from me. I truly have changed. When my father saw the condition I was in, he immediately sent for a doctor; not only to look at my injury, but to look at my head, as well. I think you're right; demons can't change, they can only go crazy, and I've gone crazy over you."

Sebastian scratched behind the black cat's ears and let out a hum, "I've never heard it put like that before." He gave the cat a brief pat on its rump and the feline leaped down from his lap and trotted away, "So what's going to happen now?"

Claude brushed a stray strand of hair behind the raven demon's hair and rested the hand against his cheek, "We need to come to a conclusion. Right now."

"This feud won't end if the two of us are feuding all the time. I can try to love you . . ." Sebastian turned to face him, "But know this; if you give me one reason not to trust you, one reason to think that everything you just told me was a lie, I will run a demon sword through your chest, and mark my words I will make sure you die!"

Claude smirked, "That's just what I expected to hear."

* * *

The news of Sebastian's agreement to pair with Claude spread instantly throughout the Faustus and Lucifer families. Though many wondered just how long it would last, they also wondered how long it would be before the two would mate and possibly produce the heir that would officially bind the two families.

Of course, the idea of mating and procreating with Claude still didn't sit well with Sebastian. Although they were paired together, he insisted that he and Claude slept in separate rooms. Then again, the prince knew mating was the inevitable fate that would befall him not that he and the spider demon had been paired, and as a demon his body was physically capable of conceiving, carrying, and birthing a child. It was a way that the demons managed to save their species, since their kind was always in danger of being wiped out by the angels and Grim Reapers that would hunt them; sometimes just for sport.

That didn't mean there weren't enemies amongst their own kind, though. Some members of the Lucifer mansion—mainly servants—didn't enjoy the idea of Satan youngest son being paired with a Faustus; a spider demon. It was as if they were still able to sense the distaste their prince still had for Claude, the unhappiness he felt with being paired with him, and the dread he felt at possibly mating with him and bearing his children; and if His Highness wasn't happy, nobody was happy.

However, the servants knew the fate to befall those who performed acts of high treason against the royal family, and they all felt the fate wasn't worth committing the crime.

. . . All but one, so it seemed.

One servant, late in the midnight hours, snuck out of his quarters and silently crept through the long hallways until he reached the door to the room Claude was sleeping in. slowly the servant opened the door, creeping in the shadows up to the edge of his bed. Claude lay sleeping in the moonlight with his spidery limbs curled over him.

The servant reached into his night robes and drew a blade that was about as long as his arm and was made out of the same material as demon swords were. He raised the blade high above his head, aiming for the bandages that covered Claude's still-healing sword wound.

"Die, you crazy son-of-a . . ."

A hand suddenly clasped over his mouth and secured his hands behind his back. Before he knew it, the blade was hovering over his throat.

"Shhhh!" a chillingly familiar shushed into his ear, "You wouldn't want to wake him, would you?"

The servant let out a shuddering breath, "You're Highness, I . . ."

Sebastian shushed his again, "Listen to me. I understand your intentions with _this_, I'm grateful you all are concerned about me pairing with him and you fear I won't be happy, but I'm sure if someone were to find out who did _this_, you wouldn't want to face the consequences, would you?"

Each time Sebastian said "this" he would bush the flat side of the blade against the servant's neck skin.

"N-no, sir." The servant replied shakily.

"Very good. And because I understand your intentions so very well, I'm willing to keep this as our little secret. No one else will have to know. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Y-yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"By the way . . . I never did get your name . . ."

"Sven. Sven Angelus."

"I'd return to your quarters if I were you, Seven Angelus; before you're missed and someone's discovered you strayed from your bed in an attempt to perform dark deeds."

"Yes, sir." Sven nodded as Sebastian released him and he scampered off to his quarters.

Sebastian hid the dagger within his own night robes, just as Claude stirred from his sleep.

"What's this about, Sebastian?" he muttered, "It's late isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." The raven demon agreed, "I was just checking in on you."

"Wouldn't that be the servants' job?"

". . . Old habit, i guess. It's nothing; just go back to sleep Claude."

The spider demon shrugged as he laid back down in the pillows and buried himself under the blankets.

Sebastian couldn't help but smirk.

_The one time in my life you're left alone and I'm the one who saves your life . . . Honestly._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

No progress was made between Sebastian and Claude as the days passed. If they were even considered a couple, they didn't show it. It was rare for them to be seen together and they hardly talked. On the ultra-rare occasion, Sebastian would decide to sleep beside Claude; facing away from him no matter what position he was in. Whenever Claude would try to be loving towards him, the raven demon would usually shrug him off or ignore whatever gestures were made. They were getting nowhere.

The families eventually stopped monitoring the so-called pair's every move. Crocell returned to his own manor and Satan took care of his own business as ruler of Hell. Both heads of the families knew if there were any changes between Sebastian and Claude, they'd find out about it sooner or later.

But it was this lack of attention was exactly what Sebastian and Claude had been waiting for. They didn't want to attempt mating with wandering eyes trying to watch through the keyhole of a closed door. They didn't want family members anticipating a night of sexual activity between them. They wanted their mating to be a private affair with no extra sets of eyes to watch them.

Claude led Sebastian away from the castle in the late hours of the night one night and into the woods to the hollow tree next to the small clearing. This was why this place was Claude's favorite spot. He had destined for this to be the place where he mated with his chosen partner, and he had sworn this would be the birthplace of his children. This place was private, peaceful, perfect . . .

It was the first time as far as either of them could remember that they were alone and could say and do as they pleased. Sebastian's talon-tipped fingers clawed at Claude's milky white skin. Feathers flew and rolled across the ground as a breeze stiffed the air. Passionate moans, hormonal growls, and the wet sound of skin slapping echoed through the night air. Claude stroked his mate with his long, smooth tongue and ignored the tickle of blood running down his ribs from where Sebastian sank his fingers deeper into his flesh.

Sebastian all but screamed as he reached his climax and came all over Claude's solid abdomen. Claude followed soon after, spilling his seed inside of Sebastian.

The spider demon collapsed beside his mate in the cool grass, panting heavily from the recent ordeal and he watched through heavy, slitted eyes as Sebastian fell asleep.

* * *

Sebastian and Claude returned to the castle before anyone could suspect them of leaving. They merely acted as though they had taken a stroll in the Lucifer manor's vast garden, carrying on a casual conversation about the roses and tiger lilies.

However, Sebastian's siblings couldn't ignore Sebastian's sudden change of behavior. He _smiled _at Claude. He _talked_ to Claude. He _spent time_ with Claude. It was a dramatic change that seemed to just happen overnight. Most wrote it off as Lilith's speculation; that Sebastian had _learned _to love him. Some merely thought Claude had done something to temporarily please the young prince.

But the weeks passed and this behavior didn't change, and it could no longer be ignored when Sebastian and Claude were caught giving each other public displays of affection, such as kissing, growling playfully to one another, or snuggling. But because their combined scent had yet to fill the castle, nobody suspected them of sealing their pairing by mating; all because the two demons would make love to each other outside of the castle, away from prying eyes.

* * *

"Claude . . . can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course, Sebastian, what is it?"

Sebastian pulled Claude into his bedchambers; closing and locking the door behind him.

"Exactly how many times have we mated over the course of these past months?"

He question had Claude stunned, "Too many times for me to count; why?"

Sebastian began to pace his room nervously. He had been mated with Claude for three months, and by now everyone in the Lucifer castle knew it.

The raven demon took a shuddering breath in, "I-I haven't conceived a child yet."

Claude's face fell in shock, "That's impossible! You haven't been showing any signs?"

"None; I don't have an urge to consume souls that's stronger than it's always been, I haven't felt any movement in my abdomen, and I feel fine . . . Claude, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. I should be well with child, by now."

Claude rubbed his chin as he paced the room to think. He could only think of one last thing they could try.

"I have an idea . . . we need to switch roles."

"What?" Sebastian inquired, "Claude, you know as well as I that both of our families are expecting me to conceive our child because I'm younger and smaller."

"Since when do age and size have anything to do with who should bear our child? If either one of us is capable of conceiving a child than either one of us could bear it. Age and size are irrelevant!"

Sebastian nodded, "But, what if I am with-child and I'm just not showing the signs yet? What if we should both end up expecting a child?"

Claude gave a soft smile, "The more the merrier, I suppose."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

For the next few months, the wait was agonizing. Sebastian and Claude made sure to aware themselves to any sudden changes in each other's behavior. It would be a nightmare if both demons proved to be infertile and incapable of reproducing. The love between Sebastian and Claude might have proved to be strong enough to end the feud between their families, but they would never be truly bound by a child.

However, Sebastian couldn't ignore the moment when he realized Claude was eating and sleeping more often than he normally did. The spider demon was also going through several mild mood swings per day and was attempting to nest in his bedchambers when he was left alone, so it didn't come as a shock to Sebastian when Claude finally confessed that he was expecting.

But Claude still kept a close eye on Sebastian, and he couldn't ignore the fact that there was something just a little bit _off_ about his mate. He couldn't place a finger on it until he realized Sebastian's behavior was becoming more erratic than his. Sebastian was making attempts to nest in his bed and showing signs of discomfort; indicating he could be even farther along than Claude was.

He was almost certain that Sebastian was also expecting, but the raven demon wasn't saying anything about it to him. This would prove to be a problem since the members of Satan's castle didn't know about Claude's pregnancy just yet. Now they might have to face the fact that there might be two children on the way, instead of just one.

"Sebastian, we need to talk." Claude said as he approached him.

"Is something wrong?" Sebastian asked.

"No, it's just . . . I want to know if there might be something you're not telling me."

"I don't think so."

"Sebastian, I'm seeing you show signs of pregnancy."

"Claude, I'm fine. I _know_ I haven't conceived."

"I'm pretty sure you have, and you have to be pretty far along to be growing this uncomfortable. You tend to be moody, I've seen you make nests in your bed, and you do look uncomfortable."

"That doesn't mean that I'm . . ."

"There's no other way to explain it. Unless you want you want me to drag your father into this and have him give us a firm diagnosis, I suggest you tell me now."

Sebastian sighed, "Alright . . . I'll admit that I have been trying to nest and that I've been uncomfortable, but there have been no other signs. I don't want to raise any false hope, so I didn't say anything."

"Not even to me?" Claude asked, "The one who's going to give birth to _one _of our children?"

"I know it was a stupid thing to do, I'm sorry."

Claude nodded, "We should tell our families. They need to know."

Sebastian returned the nod but remained uneasy about telling his family. How would his family react to both of them bearing the first children? He was more than positive that his mother would share their excitement, but what about his father? What about Claude's father, Crocell?

The two demons walked to Satan's throne room, where they found the elder demon merely sitting in his throne looking rather bored until the next catastrophe erupted. His head turned to them as they approached.

"What are you two doing here?" he inquired, "Has something happened?"

Sebastian hesitated for a moment. He really wished his mother was in the room to hear the news. Not only that, he wished she were there to defend them incase Satan went against the idea of both him and Claude carrying children.

"Actually, something has happened, father." Sebastian started, "As you are very well aware, Claude and I have officially been mated as a pair. That was many months ago, but it's only just recently I've discovered that I'm . . . that I'm with-child; Claude's child."

Satan sat straight up in his throne, "You're serious?"

"There can be no doubt, but I'm very far along; at least four months."

Unlike humans, who had a nine-month pregnancy, demons were pregnant for around five and a half months.

"But you haven't been showing any signs." Satan pointed out.

"I know," Sebastian replied, "they've only recently surfaced. And there's something else, too. Claude is pregnant, as well."

"_Really_?" Satan gasped in a shocked tone, "_Both_ of you?"

"Both of us. But Claude isn't nearly as far along as I am. He might be a month or two along."

Satan let out an amused huff, "I suppose that's one way to ensure there's a child."

"We thought Michaelis hadn't caught." Claude spoke up, "After so many tried without visible results, we could only think he wouldn't be able to conceive the heir, so I was willing to step up to the job if it meant we could have a child."

"You're playing Mr. Mom, eh? You're father's going to hear about this, eventually; you know that right?"

"Yes, you're Majesty. I know that."

"Are you ready to face whatever music that comes from him?"

Claude gave a sly smirk, "I was born ready to put up with him. But the fact we're going to have two children is something he can't change."

* * *

"They're both expecting?!"

The exclamation echoed throughoutthe Faustus mansion as a servant broke the news to Crocell.

"That's what I was told." The servant replied, "According to Lord Satan, both Prince Michaelis and Sir Faustus are with-child, and the prince is due soon, so I hear."

Crocell shook his head, "Just what were they doing? What were they _thinking_? I never expected Claude to be the one to bear the child . . . or _one of them_, rather."

A loud clap of thunder shook the mansion . . . or what sounded like thunder. The thing of it was Hell didn't have thunder storms. There was rain that would fall from time to time, but it would never storm.

"What the . . .?"

Crocell looked out the window to his study and stared at the sky. It looked as though a tornado was starting to form, but it never did. Instead, from the swirling portion of the sky came an opening and hundreds of white-winged figures began to pour in.

"Oh hell, no!" Crocell exclaimed, "Alert Lord Satan that the angels are invading Hell!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

To the horror of every demon in Hell, it wasn't just the angels who'd decided to invade their territory; Grim Reapers had joined the attack as well. They flew in like a swarm of angry bees; their war cries bringing an enraged hum to the air, and even though there were mere hundreds of them all together and thousands of demons they were going up against, their combined strength could kill quite efficiently.

All expecting demons and young child-demons were directed into Satan Lucifer's palace and were forced to take refuge underneath the structure. Sebastian and Claude, however, had been so preoccupied with other matters that they found themselves outside of the palace and at the mercy of the attacking angels and Reapers. Crowds of panicked civilians ran by them from all sides.

"Sebastian, we need to get inside!" Claude shouted through the panicked screams, "Now!"

Sebastian's eyes widened as he looked over Claude's shoulder and saw a swarm of angels diving for them, "Claude, run!"

As the invasion grew into a hellish battle—as many of the able demons were now fighting back—the two demons suddenly lost track of each other. Sebastian was constantly being knocked down by other demons trying to run away. He'd try to get back up, only to be knocked down again. Claude was working his way inside the palace when he noticed he'd lost his mate. He tried to turn back to look for him, only to be turned around by the swarm of demons trying to push their way into the castle.

After being knocked down for the umpteenth time, Sebastian forced himself to stay down. He curled himself into as much of a ball as he could manage to avoid having someone land hard on his abdomen; even though in the womb, a demon's fetus could take any brutality that was shown against it.

The sound of flesh being sliced into by a metal object fill his ears and a horrible pain erupted from his left thigh, making him sit straight up and scream. A large scythe ran all the way through his leg, pinning him to the ground. The strangled scream intensified with the pain. Sebastian looked up at his attacker, who was cracking a wide grin at him. Long grey hair fell to the middle of his back.

"Long time, no see, _butler_."

Sebastian let out a hiss of pain, "Undertaker . . . why am I not surprised?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure what this brouhaha is for. I just joined in because it seemed . . ." the ex-Reaper kicked Sebastian backwards without warning, ". . . fun."

His eyes widened suddenly as they settled on Sebastian's abdomen, "I say, butler, I never knew you were expecting. How interesting."

Sebastian could feel his consciousness leaving him. It was obvious the blade of Undertaker's death scythe had hit a few arteries, and blood was leaving him in large amounts.

"Hehehe, your odds of survival might be higher if my scythe isn't pulled out, so I'll just be on my way."

And with that, Undertaker left.

Sebastian felt his eyes grow heavy. He thought about Claude. He thought about their children. A had strayed to his abdomen.

"I'm sorry . . . I'm so, so sorry . . ."

Sebastian's mind began to drift off. He felt as though he had failed at so many things by getting injured. He couldn't help but think that because of this, the feud between the Faustus family and the Lucifer family would never be resolved and le felt he also failed to protect his child; one of his biggest priorities.

"Sebastian, get up! Come on, can't you hear me?"

The voice that spoke to him so suddenly was all too familiar for him to ignore and he forced his eyes open to look at whoever it was that was speaking to him

The only thing he could make out through all the chaos going on around them was that the person was a child-demon with piercing blue eyes; eyes so familiar that the name practically fell out of his mouth.

"Ciel . . ."

Exhaustion took over and Sebastian's eyes slipped closed.

* * *

"Ciel . . ."

The child-demon could hardly believe his former butler could remember his name, and he wondered how on earth someone like Sebastian could end up in this condition. Then his eyes found the death scythe and it all came together.

"Undertaker . . ."

Ciel suddenly became alarmed when Sebastian's eyes slipped closed. His face looked pale; paler than it normally was. He knew if he didn't get help soon, the raven demon was going to die.

The first matter of business was removing the scythe from Sebastian's leg. The blade was what was keeping the wound from healing and there was no way Ciel would be able to move him if he was pinned to the ground.

Removing the blade was not at all a pleasant experience for Ciel. More blood spilled out of the wound and Sebastian moaned and flinched at the pain, even though he was barely conscious.

As the blade was worked out of Sebastian's leg, Ciel covered the wound with his black overcoat; wrapping it around his thigh to cover both ends of the wound. The only thing he could do now is move him and try to find help; not at all easy when Sebastian was five times his size.

Ciel gathered him in his arms, carrying him bridal-style as he tried to keep his large black wings folded. Lifting him was the easy part. The harder part was trying to find his way into Satan's castle and getting help, and Satan's castle was uncharted territory. Even more so, Ciel would have to try to do that without getting them both killed.

Angels and Reapers were trying to break into the palace. They were destroying homes and murdering demons, one right after another.

"Who are the real bad guys?" Ciel wondered.

As the door to Satan's castle came into his sights, Ciel began to notice something off about Sebastian. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was just something . . . _abnormal _about him.

To his relief, Ciel did make it into the castle.

"Help!" he shouted, "We need some help, now!

The child-demon's shouts caught the attention of one of Sebastian's sisters, Lilim. She was a beautify demoness with long, curly black hair and red eyes. She had a heart-shaped face and a pixy-like nose.

"Michaelis!" she exclaimed, running in her high-heeled boots towards them, "What happened?"

"He had a death scythe go through his left thigh and he's lost a lot of blood."

They laid Sebastian on the floor and Lilim checked his pulse.

"Will he be all right?" Ciel asked.

"I'm not sure. If the wound is stitch it just might save him."

"'_Might_' as in you're not sure?"

"You'd be surprised, Lord Phantomhive. Otherworldly weapons can do quite a number on an immortal. But we can talk about that later. Michaelis needs help no!"

Lilim gathered Sebastian into her arms and carried him off while Ciel was reluctantly directed to another room.

* * *

Claude was on the brink of having an anxiety attack as he sat amongst other demons in a safe haven from the attack. He hadn't caught a single glimpse of Sebastian since he'd lost track of him in the chaos, and he was worried that his mate was injured, or worse . . .

"Come on, Sebastian, where are you?"

The sight of a child-demon shoving his way through the tightly packed crowd towards him caught his attention. He was hauntingly familiar and Claude felt a nagging guilt gnaw at his stomach . . . or perhaps that was his own hunger from his pregnancy.

"Lord Phantomhive?" he gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you, actually." Ciel replied, "I've found Sebastian."

Claude stood straight up, "You did? Where is he? Is he okay?"

The alarm in Claude's voice had Ciel a bit confused. Last he knew, Sebastian and Claude hated each other; the fight-to-the-death-in-a-duel sort of hate. But he didn't have the time to ask all the questions that were beginning to stack up.

"A demoness took him; his sister, I think," Ciel explained, "She's taking him to a bedroom to heal."

"Heal?! What happened?"

"Undertaker struck him with his death scythe and he's lost a lot of blood."

Claude went cold. He didn't want to think that he'd lose his mate and the unborn child he was carrying.

"Can you take me to him?" he asked desperately, "Please, I need to be there with him!"

_Obviously something has happened that I'm not aware of_, Ciel thought to himself, _What the hell have you been doing Sebastian?_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Claude was mortified at the condition Sebastian had been left in. It took three of the servants to hold him back to prevent him from throwing himself at his mate. Sebastian was in an incredibly fragile state of body; so fragile it seemed that even a small stone could best him at this point. Although he was in no danger of dying now, his heart was working hard to replace all the blood he lost.

Ciel also stayed in the room with far too many questions on his mind.

"Claude . . ." he said quietly, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Claude replied.

"Exactly what is going on between you and Sebastian? Last I knew, you two hated each other, and last _I_ knew _you_ were _dead_!"

"Remarkably I healed from the injury from the demon sword," Claude lifted his shirt and exposed the still-healing wound, which was only the size of a silver dollar, now with a melon sized scar surrounding it, "Sebastian and I managed to get over our differences and now we're mates."

Ciel's jaw dropped in shock, "Mates? That just isn't right! Sebastian couldn't have gotten over his grudge that easily!"

"It was an arranged affair, actually. You see, my family and Sebastian's family have been feuding for centuries and we were on the brink of war. Our father's thought that by pairing us, we could form a bond that might be able to end that feud. The bond is able to be made permanent if Sebastian and I were to have a child together."

Ciel gagged, "Don't tell me you didn't go so far as to knock up Sebastian."

Claude felt a blush come onto his face and he could only nod, "Sebastian is pregnant with my child. But . . . the signs came so late we thought he was infertile, so we switched roles for a time, so I'm expecting a child, as well."

Ciel shook his head, "That all sounds **_really_** complicated."

Claude settled himself beside Sebastian and ran a hand through the raven demon's hair. Out of the blue, he began sobbing. He leaned his head against his mates and cradled his upper body in his arms.

"What's the matter with you?" Ciel asked.

"I-it's nothing . . ." Claude sniffled, "I'm just moody, is all. Seeing Sebastian like this must have triggered something."

Ciel nodded, slowly stepping out of the room, "I'll give you some privacy."

* * *

Satan gathered every surviving demon, save for Sebastian and Claude, into his throne room after the attack ended. Everyone was frightened and confused and nobody knew what would happen next.

"I don't know what we did to provoke this attack . . ." Satan stated, "We have no over stepped our boundaries with Heaven and the Grim Reapers. We have not been consuming more than our fair share of souls or wreaking havoc in the human realm, and yet we've suffered more casualties than I have ever seen in my long, idle life. My son, Michaelis—several months pregnant with his first child—nearly bled to death, because of some, crazed Grim Reaper. H survived, but . . . had he not been found and saved, we could have lost him and the child. I have yet to lose one of my children, and I do not intend to start today! As for all of you; you're afraid, your homes are gone, and most of you have lost mates or friends or children. This is the greatest tragedy Hell has ever seen, but I will stop at nothing to rebuild and do everything in my power to prevent something like this from happening again!"

The demons listened in silence. They were scared, tired, battered, and broken. It would take time to heal these wounds; time that no one had the patience for anymore.

* * *

Claude sat with Sebastian for several hours until the raven demon finally woke up. He was still weak from blood loss and there was a strong pain in his left thigh from where the wound was trying to heal.

"How are you feeling?" Claude asked.

". . . Okay, I think." Sebastian replied groggily, "The wound in my leg hurts like hell, but at least we're all safe."

Claude ran a gentle hand over his mate's abdomen, "I don't know what I would have done if I would have lost you two."

"Nothing _rash_, I'd hope."

The spider demon chuckled, "No, nothing rash . . ."

There was a soft knock at the door. Claude had been expecting Ciel to return at some point after it was announced that Sebastian was awake, and sure enough when the door opened it was the child-demon that was standing there. His eyes moved from Sebastian to Claude and back to Sebastian.

"Decided to join the living, eh, Sebastian?"

Sebastian gave a small laugh, "I suppose you could say that, sir."

Ciel seated himself at the bedside beside Claude, "Claude's been telling me all about you two."

"No wonder my ears were ringing." Sebastian responded sarcastically, "So I assume that you're aware of our current relationship status."

"I am; I know you're both with-child, as well."

"Yes, we are both with-child. I must thank you for saving my hide. Had it not been for you, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Sebastian looked at Claude, "You didn't hear of any casualties in the family, have you?"

Claude shook his head, "Your father tells me there were no casualties in the Lucifer family, and I haven't heard anything from my father or the rest of my family."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sebastian was back on his feet within a couple of days, now with a whole realm that had to be rebuilt. Along with that, he wanted to try to make contact with Crocell Faustus to be sure Claude's family was safe. Claude had been worried about his family since Sebastian had woken up and for once he had to admit that it wasn't normal for his father to _not_ make contact.

Claude was walking along the blood-stained streets when he caught sight of a familiar face. He was relieved to find that Claire—his maid—had also survived attack.

"Say, Claire?" he called to her.

The maid jumped at the sudden sound of his voice but also seemed to be relieved that Claude was all right.

"Hello, Master Claude. What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen my father or anyone from the house, for that matter?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. They're gone . . . well, not the _dead _kind of gone; they left."

"They left?! Where on earth could they have gone; what, with every angel and Grim Reaper hunting our arses?"

"I don't know, sir. I was just told they had left they'd be back a little later."

Claude ran a hand through his hair. Of all times to go missing, this had to be the worst. Not only had Hell been reduced to dust, but Sebastian was also close to delivering and they didn't even know if their chosen birthplace was still standing. It stressed him out, which he already knew wasn't good for his own pregnancy.

"Thank you for telling me, Claire." Claude said to the maid, "Obviously nobody else bothers to let me know of these things."

The spider demon walked back into the castle and found Sebastian right where he last left; in his bed chambers . . . apparently trying to nest. Bed sheets had been pushed up and wrapped in a circle with the pillows scattered everywhere.

Sebastian was tossing and turning restlessly in the massive heap; a sign that his body was trying to prepare for labor.

"Take it easy, Sebastian," Claude soothed, "Try to rest and save your energy."

Sebastian let out a frustrated huff, "I've been trying to relieve the pain in my back for the better part of a half-hour."

"Well, it sounds like you're getting close." Claude ran a hand over Sebastian's abdomen, which was now smooth, slightly curved, and lacking its hard, chiseled features, "Maybe a walk will help a little bit."

* * *

"Have you heard anything from your father yet?" Sebastian asked Claude as they took a stroll through the garden.

"I haven't . . ." Claude replied, "But Claire has told me they've up and left."

"Claire . . . Claire . . . why does that name sound familiar?"

"No reason . . . I've probably mentioned her before."

Sebastian nodded and continued walking.

"It stilled seems strange that your father would just up and leave without you knowing."

Claude couldn't deny that. His father usually told him everything. Although he had taken refuge in the Lucifer castle, he still didn't see why his father wouldn't tell him where he was going, or that he was leaving in the first place. Now that he thought about it, why was Claire the only servant of his household that was left behind? Sure, she was nothing more than a simple chamber maid, but she was highly skilled and took orders well. If nothing else, she should have been considered extremely valuable and Crocell should have sacrificed an arm and a leg to leave with her in tow.

"We'll see," Claude hummed, "Of course if they return . . . huh, I don't know what I'll do. Frankly, I'm upset they left in the first place."

"Claude . . ."

Sebastian suddenly gasped and clutched the sleeve of the spider demon's shirt as he pressed a hand to his stomach firmly and let out a soft groan.

"Sebastian? What is it?" Claude asked; alarmed by his mate's sudden change of state.

Sebastian let out a few slow breaths before his grip loosened and he straightened up.

"I'm fine . . ."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Claude rested a hand against his mate's abdomen. He could feel the slight tightening in the raven demon's muscles. He knew what this was, but ignored it as they continued walking.

"I still wonder why the angels and Reapers would attack ups without reason," Claude commented, "And why would Undertaker try to kill you?"

"I don't think he was trying to kill me." Sebastian stated, "When he looked at me at first, he didn't seem to recognize me and he had no clue that I was expecting."

"That's not a good reason, you know. You're the only source of high-quality entertainment he has. It seemed a bit strange to me that he would try to attack you, or any demon for that matter. Humph, perhaps he can't see a damn thing through those bangs of his, and he sure as hell can't see a damn thing without a pair of spectacles."

"But you should know it's not the first time Undertaker has sent his scythe through some part of my body. I nearly died because he sent that sickle of his through my chest."

"When was that?" Claude asked.

"Maybe two years ago."

Sebastian's grip on Claude's shirt tightened again, "Claude!"

His knees buckled and a hand clutched his stomach as he began panting heavily.

"Claude, I think it's time!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Claude scooped Sebastian up in his arms and his spidery limbs carried them quickly into the woods and to the clearing, which still remained standing and beautify, as if it had been untouched by the attack.

"Just relax, Sebastian." The spider demon told him as he laid him against a smooth curved side of the old, dead tree.

Sebastian relieved a soft moan as he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position.

"At least this child knows a thing or two about timing."

"What do you mean?"

Sebastian managed to crack a clever smile, "Imagine how much of a nightmare this would have been if I had gone into labor a couple of days ago."

Claude shuddered, "I think I'd have a heart attack."

Sebastian gave a small chuckle before a contraction took hold of him and he groaned loudly. His hands gripped onto the long grass so tightly his knuckles turned white. He felt a pop from within and a large amount of fluid spilled from between his legs. Sebastian's moans increased in volume as the pain became more intense, and he knew it wouldn't be long before he'd have to push.

Claude did his best to comfort and encourage his mate. He held his hand and let the raven demon crush it to his heart's content. Being the eldest son of dozens of Crocell Faustus' children, he had been present at many of his siblings' births and had even assisted in a few. He still couldn't get over the amount of pain Child birth caused the expecting parent, and he couldn't help but grow nervous at the thought of having to go through labor, himself.

Claude snapped out of his thoughts at the feeling of Sebastian's grip growing tighter and tight and his moans had grown into pained cries.

"Claude, what's happening?" he gasped, "It's getting worse!"

"Just breathe, Sebastian," Claude soothed, "Everything's fine."

"Then why . . . AHHH . . . does it hurt so much?"

Claude checked Sebastian's progress and looked up at him with an encouraging smile, "It's because you're fully dilated and able to push."

"I-I don't think I have enough energy to push."

"Just try . . ."

Sebastian propped himself up on his elbows and braced himself for the next contraction. As he felt his core begin to tighten, he took a few calming breaths before curling forward and bearing down.

* * *

"Come on, Sebastian. You're doing great!"

Sebastian let out a heavy, shuddering breath. He had been pushing for the better part of an hour and he was bitterly exhausted. Sweat coated his face and his hands had raked large gouges out of the ground. He was growing tired and weak.

"Come on, Sebastian stay with me!" Claude said encouragingly, "Push!"

"I . . . I can't . . ."

"Yes, you can!"

"No, I _can't_!"

Claude cupped Sebastian's cheek and stroked it with his thumb.

"You listen to me, Michaelis. You were able to defeat a Grim Reaper with a massive wound cutting across your chest. You defeated an angel with one arm. You escaped a sinking ship filled with undead bodies with a wound going through your torso with Ciel Phantomhive in tow. If you can do all that, I know you can push our child into the world. You _can_ do this!"

Through his steady panting, Sebastian nodded to him. He moved back to propping himself up on his elbows and as a contraction struck, he pushed with everything he had. He moaned loudly as he felt pressure begin to build at the child's birthing exit.

"That's it, Sebastian! I can see the head."

Sebastian pushed until he was sure his face had turned blue. He spread his legs further apart, hoping I would make more room for the child. A sharp burning sensation started as the baby's head began to emerge and his cries turned into screams.

"It's all right, Sebastian. I know it hurts, but everything's all right."

Sebastian collapsed back into the grass as the child's head left his body.

"C-Clau-Claude . . . I can't do this anymore!"

"Yes, you can, Sebastian!" Claude said in a determined tone, "Just a few more pushes and you're done."

Sebastian didn't seem to be convinced. He was exhausted and looked as though he could pass out at any moment.

Claude took one of Sebastian's clenching hands and guided it down to where the child's head was.

"You see?" Claude said, "Our child is right there. All you have to do is push the shoulders out and the rest will be easy."

Sebastian could only manage to nod before pushing once more. A few small whimpers escaped his slightly parted lips as the shoulders left his body.

Relief washed over Sebastian's body and a loud wail filled the air as Claude lifted a squirming infant with thick black hair covering its head. Its skin was as white a snow and a pair of black, raven-like wings the size of a grown man's hand was folded behind it's back.

"It's a boy!" Claude announced as he placed the newborn in Sebastian's arms.

As weak as he was, Sebastian seemed to gain a burst of energy as the wailing of his child filled his ears. He cradled the child tenderly as he cleaned off the fluids covering it with a long, flat, raven-like tongue.

Claude settled himself beside his mate and held them both in his arms, "What are you going to call him?"

" . . . Errapel."

"That's a name. But what does it mean, exactly?"

Sebastian gave a soft smile.

"It means, 'to heal'."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

In the darkness that seemed to cloak Hell after being attacked, there was a light that seemed to lift it away as the whole realm rejoiced at the news of the birth of Errapel the Healer. Hundreds of civilians flocked to the palace in hopes of catching a glimpse of the newborn prince; however, very few could say they did without lying. And now the realm eagerly awaited the birth of the second child that Claude was carrying.

Sebastian and Claude, however, didn't share the excitement as much as others. Sebastian was learning the ropes of parenthood and Claude had torn himself up worrying about his family. Crocell Faustus had missed Errapel's birth; the birth of Claude's first-born child with Sebastian; one of the binds that would bring the Faustus and Lucifer feud to an official end. Claude felt he couldn't forgive his father if he missed the birth of this child.

But as the months passed, Claude became less convinced his father would return in time. There had been no letters, no phone calls, no footman from the Faustus mansion with some sort of telegram; not even the maid, Claire, had heard of any news from the Archduke, and she had begun to fear the worst.

Sebastian, fed up with Claude's growing resentment towards his father, flew to the Faustus mansion himself while Claude was asleep. He returned an hour later with grim news.

"The mansion is completely abandoned. Nothing's been taken, t none of the servants are there. It just looks like every demon that was there just up and left."

"Then why would they just leave without trying to find me or letting me know in some way?" Claude asked, "Were they chased out by angels or Reapers? Were they captured? Killed? Or did they just . . . relocate?"

Sebastian sighed in frustration, "I don't know Claude, but maybe we'll have our answers soon."

Just then, Errapel started crying and Claude smirked, "Well, in the meantime, _you_ have a baby to feed."

Sebastian growled lowly at Claude as he strode over to his son's cradle and lifted him up, and he froze.

"He's _your_ child, too, you now. And for the record, he needs to be changed."

It seemed Claude's behavior had changed after Errapel's birth. He was more cocky and smart-mouthed. He didn't show as much love to Sebastian or Errapel, for unknown reasons. He merely treated then as annoying roommates. Was it all because he was focused on his father?

Claude did recall that only weeks ago, he had helped Sebastian when he was in labor and held genuine concern for his mate and all the pain he was in. he recalled feeling true joy upon lying eyes on his son and holding him and Sebastian as the raven demon recovered.

Now, there was nothing.

He knew this new behavior irked Sebastian more than anything. The spider demon had done very little to care for Errapel when Sebastian couldn't. But Claude knew the day would come when Sebastian would confront him about his behavior, and this time he didn't have a good excuse that would be able to talk him out of it.

* * *

In the late hours of the night, Claude laid in bed next to Sebastian. While the raven demon was deeply asleep, he was wide awake. A dull pain had started in his lower back, making it hard for him to find a comfortable position to lie in. unable to sleep, he let his mind wander. He wondered why his feelings had suddenly changed towards Sebastian. Was it because their child had been born, and because of that there was no reason to worry about their families tearing each other apart because of a feud? Or was merely infatuated with Sebastian for a short amount of time?

Claude got up from bed and strode over to Errapel's cradle. The infant lay sleeping soundly amongst a nest of soft, white blankets. He lifted him up and cradled him in his arms.

"You sure are cute . . ." he said, "And you're half mine . . . so, why do I feel like that really doesn't matter? Why don't you mean anything to me?"

Little Errapel adjusted his position in Claude's arms with a tiny squeaking sound and continued to sleep.

Claude chuckled slightly, "I don't know, either. That's why I asked you."

He sat Errapel back into his crib and sat at the edge of his bed and watched Sebastian sleep. The raven demon looked every bit as angelic as he had all the times before when he had watched him sleep; only now he didn't feel as fascinated by it.

Without any answers, Claude adjusted himself back in the bed, lying beside Sebastian.

The motion woke the raven demon and he lifted his head off the pillows. He was groggy; barely awake.

"Claude? Is something wrong?"

Claude rolled onto his side and stroked Sebastian's cheek gingerly.

"Nothing's wrong, love," he said, "I just had to use the restroom. Now, go back to sleep."

Sebastian nodded and his head sank back into the pillows once more, "Good night."

* * *

Claude did manage to sleep for a short amount of time before he woke up to a strong cramping sensation in his abdomen. It lasted only a few short minutes before fading. He knew what was happening.

He looked over to Sebastian, who still lay in bed beside him, sleeping. He debated whether or not he wanted to wake him up, but decided he'd let the raven demon sleep, as he felt he knew what to do on his own. But his labor progressed quickly and before long he was stifling moans and rubbing his cramping gut, trying to relieve the pain.

_I don't know how you were able to do this, Sebastian._ He thought to himself, _No wonder you were screaming so much. This bloody hurts! _

Claude couldn't silence his pained moans as his water broke. It all suddenly became ten times worse to him.

A light in the room flicked on, "Claude?"

The commotion had woken up Sebastian and the raven demon at his side in a few heartbeats, "What's wrong?"

"The baby's coming . . ." Claude groaned, "Right now . . ."

"Well, why the hell didn't you wake me up?"

"I . . . I _did_ try, Sebastian, but you must have been sleeping too deeply, because you wouldn't wake up."

Sebastian shook his head, "Claude, I don't care if you have to break a cricket board over my head; do anything to wake me up!"

The raven demon lifted Claude up and he flew them back to the clearing for the birth.

* * *

By the time dawn broke in Hell, Claude had given birth to a healthy baby girl he named Rebekkah; a name that meant 'to bind together or mend'. Now there was Errapel and Rebekkah, the Healer and the Mender of the Faustus-Lucifer feud. Rebekkah also bore thick, black hair and scorched Sebastian's raven-like wings. The only difference between the siblings was that Errapel bore Claude's golden eyes while Rebekkah bore those of a dark crimson color, like Sebastian's.

However, things didn't change between Sebastian and Claude. If anything, things grew worse between them. Claude completely ignored his children and only seemed to focus on trying to locate his missing father and siblings. This left Sebastian to care for the two infants by himself. Claude wasn't in the palace most of the time and would sometimes be gone for several days. It was almost as if the two infants were only Sebastian's . . . it was almost as if Claude wasn't his mate anymore, and Sebastian _hated_ it!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Sebastian lay sprawled in the middle of his bedroom floor with a blank look on his face. His hair was mangled and lacked the silky, glossy look it normally held. Minute bags could be seen flawing his healthy, youthful appearance. The corner of his right eye twitched in impatience as the ringing of Errapel and Rebekkah's cries filled the air.

They didn't want to feed.

They didn't need to be changed.

They didn't need to be burped.

Even Errapel was too young to be teething just yet.

Sebastian's hands reached up and slid down his face. He had taken this time to calm down and avoid lashing out at one of his beloved children. Naturally, Claude wasn't here to help and everyone else in the palace seemed to be busy, which meant that—once again—Sebastian was on his own.

He sat himself up and took a few last calming breaths before managing to his feet and started again with Errapel. He lifted the squirming, wailing baby up and continued to check and see what he needed. He didn't want to be fed. He didn't need to be changed. He didn't need to be burped . . . Rebekkah was no different.

An hour later, Sebastian was lying in his bed with the two infants curled against his chest, sound asleep. He reached up and pulled a few stray feathers out of his hair and the babies' hair. If only they'd remain the cute, sleeping bundles they were now.

A knock on his door gained Sebastian's attention, and he quickly checked to make sure neither Errapel nor Rebekkah had woken up.

"Come in!" Sebastian called softly.

To his surprise, it was Ciel who walked inside.

"This is unexpected," Sebastian remarked, "What brings you here?"

"Rumor on the street had it that your children had been born and I haven't gotten around to visiting until just now."

The child-demon sat himself in a chair beside the bed and looked over the babies with a slight smile.

"What are their names?"

Sebastian gestured to each child, "Errapel and Rebekkah."

"And what about Claude?"

"He's not here. He's too busy trying to hunt down his father, or what might be left of him."

Ciel frowned at the statement, "Why don't you leave him then?"

"Sir?"

"It's _obvious_ he's not making you happy, and now you have children to take care of. That's not exactly a one-man job. If I were you, I'd leave him and find someone who will be there and make you happy."

Sebastian was silent for a moment before he let out a sigh, "It's not as simple as that. Divorce in the demon realm is much more complicated than it is in the human realm. For two demons mated to completely leave each other, any children that are produced between the two must be killed, because it is the children that bind the parents and their families by blood."

"So you're just going to stay with Claude, and there's nothing you can do about it? Your _father_—Lord Satan Lucifer, ruler of Hell and king of all demons—can't do anything?"

"Well, he could, but it wouldn't look good. It'd give my family name a bad reputation."

"I see . . . so you don't want to risk getting black-balled."

"With all due respect, if Claude would stop focusing so much on searching for his father and act only as a mate should, he's tolerable. I can live with him."

* * *

Claude had searched half of Hell for his father without a single sign to lead to him. He was frustrated. If he knew where his family was and if they were or were not all right, he could go back to the palace and be with his children; he wouldn't have anything to worry about. But the longer he travelled without a single trace of his father's existence in his grasp, the madder he became with hell-bent determination.

Claude sat down to rest. It was late in the afternoon and if he was ever going to make it home to Sebastian before nightfall, he knew he'd better turn back now. But he couldn't bring himself to do so. He felt so close to finding his family; so close, yet so far.

"Claude?"

The sudden voice got the spider demon's attention, and he instantly started searching for the source of the voice. His eyes fell on a distant, eight-legged figure that was approaching him rapidly. The scent of the other demon hit his nose and Claude's eye brightened.

"Father?"

"Claude!"

It was the Archduke, who wrapped him in a hug, chuckling happily.

"So you did survive the attack, after all! Thank goodness."

"You're one to talk!" Claude retorted, "We all thought you all wouldn't be coming back."

"Oh, we'll be back, soon enough; just as soon as everything's settled. I trust you'll be joining in on our attack, as well."

Claude furrowed his brow in confusion, "What do you mean? What attack?"

"We've been planning to attack the Lucifer palace."

Claude's eyes widened in shock, "What?!"

"Let's face it, Claude. The children you and Michaelis bore won't end the feud. There will always be one of us or one of them that hating each other and it will always escalate into a fight. We're going to wipe out the Lucifer family completely."

"No! Father, you can't do this! After all the trust we've built, you want to destroy it? I've watched Michaelis suffer. I've given birth to one of our children; one of our very beautiful children. And you want to wipe it all out?"

"No, son. We can save your children . . . but Michaelis and the others will have to go."

"**_No_**! I refuse! You can't do this to them! I won't have any part of it!" Tears streamed down Claude's face, "You'll have to kill me first!"

Crocell Faustus was silent for some time before he let out a low hum, "Are you sure about this, son?"

"I won't let you kill them, father . . ." Claude positioned himself and prepared to fight, "You'll have to go through me, first!" To Claude's horror, a sadistic, evil smile crawled across Crocell's face.

"If that's what you want, Claude," the elder spider demon also positioned himself to fight, "I suppose I'll just have to teach you a lesson."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_"Why would you want to attack the Lucifer mansion?"_

_ That was the question that floated around the Faustus family as Crocell broke the news._

_ "Someone who used to be a heavenly angel isn't fit to rule Hell." Crocell stated._

_ "But Satan Lucifer has been ruling for eons and we've been just fine."_

_ "Yes, I can see that, but the thing is; when was the last time ol' Luce ever got his hands dirty. When the angels and the Grim Reapers attacked Hell, he was sitting inside his castle doing __**nothing**__ while the rest of us are risking life and limb to drive the pests out!"_

_ Members of the Faustus family looked at each other. They knew it wasn't a lie, but they prospered with Satan at the throne and, in truth, they feared the thought of that changing._

_ "And what about Claude?" one of the demons asked, "He's mated with Michaelis Lucifer and they've got kids on the way. There's no way this attack is going to sit well with him."_

_ Crocell wrinkled his nose, "We should have never tried to pair them. All that trust we built, all the good times we've created . . . wasted."_

_ "Then why attack? Even if we __**do**__ manage to strike down Satan, he has hundreds and heirs and even their heirs have heirs . . ."_

_ "Not to mention Claude's children are half-and-half," another demon pointed out, "They may contain Lucifer blood, but they're bound by our blood, too."_

_ "Do you mean to spill our own blood, father?"_

_ "__No, I don't!" Crocell growled, "The children will live, but the rest of the Lucifer's will have to go!"_

* * *

Claude's eyes snapped open.

His head throbbed, his limbs ached, there was a sharp pain in his ribs, his spectacles were shattered, and the wind had been knocked out of his lungs. He knew he wasn't a match for his father, but it seemed to be worth the fight if it meant he was able to at least try to stop him from attacking the Lucifer palace.

He was afraid. How long had he been unconscious? Long enough for his father to get a head start, that's for sure. Tears came to his eyes. He knew he wouldn't make it back to the palace in time to save Sebastian. He had failed as the raven demon's mate.

"I'm sorry . . ." he muttered, "I'm so, so sorry . . ."

"Master Claude!"

He knew that voice, "C-Claire?"

Claude could taste blood in his mouth.

"Master Claude!" the maid suddenly came to his sights and settled herself beside him, "Oh, my god! Sir, what happened?"

"My father . . . he's going to attack the Lucifer palace!"

"Your _father_ did _this_?"

Claude managed to look himself over. He was covered in blood and wounds from Crocell's spidery limbs. There were prominent bite wounds on his arms, which would explain most of the throbbing in his head. The venom of a spider demon was powerful, even to their own kind. Their own venom might not kill them, but if another type of demon were to be bitten, the other demon could die in a matter of minutes.

"We have to stop him," Claude said as he sat up, "If we don't, he'll kill innocent people; he'll kill Michaelis!"

Claire nudged him to his feet, "Then there isn't a moment to waste!"

* * *

Sebastian gazed out a window; looking for any sign of Claude. He hated to admit that he was missing his mate, especially after the way he'd been acting towards him and their children. But Sebastian had realized Ciel was right; parenting wasn't a one-man job and he needed Claude's help in this. Leaving him wasn't an option.

A knock at his bedroom door jogged him from his trance. The door opened to reveal his mother, Lilith.

"You can't stay in here forever, you know . . ." she said.

Sebastian shrugged, "The children need me."

"Let one of your sisters help take care of them, then. You could use a break."

"I'm waiting for Claude to come back. We need to talk about something."

Lilith sighed softly, "Michaelis . . . I know you want things to work between you two for the sake of your children, but Claude seems to have bigger priorities he feels he must attend to; otherwise he _would_ be here."

"Humph, and our children _aren't enough_ to prioritize?"

"What are you saying?"

"Ever since they were born, Claude hasn't shown a sliver of kindness towards Errapel or Rebekkah. Lord Phantomhive has a point; parenting is not a one-man job."

"Your sisters can help you, you know; or perhaps I can find a nanny."

"I don't need a nanny—the _children_ don't need a nanny—they need their parents; me an Claude. Claude needs to pull his weight, too."

Even though Sebastian was able to understand why Claude was so keen on finding his missing father and siblings, their children were a priority that was equally as big. The children hadn't bonded at all with Claude and firmly recognized Sebastian as their sole parent. Sebastian had been able to see their little milestones happen right in front of him. Rebekkah was able to hold her own head up. Errapel was making little attempts to sit up on his own. Rebekkah let out her first hiss to one of Sebastian's sisters. Errapel had mastered snarling. They were just little things that meant everything to a parent in Hell . . . and Claude had missed every single one of them.

Of course, Sebastian reasoned that he would have gone looking for his family, too, if they'd gone missing; but he knew the members of the Lucifer family could handle themselves and would have most likely returned on their own, which would have left him to go back to tending to his children.

Lilith lifted Errapel from his cradle and held him in her arms.

"At least let me give you a hand. I've done this hundreds of times before. You're not prepared to handle two children on your own just yet."

* * *

Claude ran back to the palace as quickly as his eight legs could carry him. fear pumped through his veins and gave him the fuel to move his legs faster and faster.

He glanced behind him, "Claire, hurry up! There isn't much time!"

The little maid was tumbling along behind him. Her legs were scraped up from falling so many times and she lagged behind him by several yards.

"I'm trying, sir!" she panted, "Just go. Go on without me; I'll only slow you down!"

"You're coming, and that's final! Now, hurry!"

Claire staggered to her feet and tried to continue running. Her legs burned, her feet felt like they were on fire, and she was struggling to breathe, as if there was no air that she _could_ breathe.

Her knees began to buckle after a few steps and her animal-instinct took over. A pair of large, grey, bat-like wings sprouted from her back; tearing her maid's uniform near their bases. With a loud clap, they whisked her small body into the air and a clawed hand took Claude by the back of his shirt.

"A bat demon?!" he exclaimed, "_You're_ a _bat demon_?!"

"I wanted to tell you, sir." Claire explained, "But master Crocell would have killed me! he made me keep my wings hidden so I wouldn't intimidate the nobles."

Typically speaking, much like raven demons, bat demons were much more powerful than spider demons, and they were very rare. This gave Claude an advantage.

"Shut up and fly, Claire!" he commanded, "The sooner we get to the palace, the better!"

* * *

In the late hours of the night, Sebastian was sound asleep along with his children. Most that resided in the Lucifer castle were asleep; the usual nighttime pastime for demons in Hell.

But something was amiss on this night. The hallways were silent, as they should have been . . . aside from a steady patter that tapped its way down the hallways. If one listened closely, this patter could be heard along the outer walls of the castle, as well.

There were at least one hundred spider demons quietly coating the inside and outside of the castle in a highly flammable liquid without a scent that came from the lakes of fire the torturous lands were known for. The legends of demons being able to withstand the burning of hellfire—or any fire, for that matter—was a complete myth. Although demons could bend the element to do their bidding, it was wild and alive and—to a demon off his guard—could be very lethal.

Crocell Faustus tiptoed along then inside of the castle with this liquid with a dagger in his hand as he searched for Michaelis Lucifer's room, and he would kill any servant—any being—that got in his way.

A loud crackling sound and an eerie orange and white glow caught his attention.

"No, you idiots! Not now! It's too early!"

Fire spread over the outside of the mansion and licked down the hallways and Crocell knew his time to find Claude's children and kill Michaelis was extremely limited. In a few minutes the whole castle would be consumed in flames and the burning wouldn't stop until the structure and everything and everyone in it was burned to ash.

Demons within the castle woke with a start to the smell of smoke filling the air and the intense heat. Some were able to escape through doors without any injuries, but in their terror, some resorted to jumping out of windows and flying away to save themselves.

Errapel and Rebekkah seemed to be alarmed to the danger before Sebastian was. they set up a loud wailing that jostled him out of his slumber. His eyes widened in terror as they observed the door, the walls, and some of the floor being consumed by the flames. He snatched the frightened infants from their cradles before the fire could reach them and he searched frantically for a possible way out.

"Claude, where are you when I need you?"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 9/24/2014**

_"Yes, you are still with the one formerly known as BlackButlerFan13. My name changed due to the fact i kind of ran into another author with a very similar pen name. Don't worry, still the same person, just a different pen name!"_

**-BlueRaven666**


	14. Chapter 14

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 9/25/2014**

_"Just so we're clear, this is still the one formerly known as BlackButlerFan13. The name just needed to be changed, that's all I can say. Enjoy the Chapter! We are nearing the end of this story. It's been a pleasure meeting my newest followers and reading your reviews. I'll keep on writting so long as you all keep on following."_

**-BlueRaven666**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Claude and Claire's eyes widened in horror, as the Lucifer castle came into their sights. The massive structure was cloaked in flames. Civilians were rushing out of their homes; collapsing to their knees and wailing in despair at the sight. The sky was blackened by smoke and multiple raven demons trying to escape. They circled the burning castle, searching frantically for survivors. To the horror of some, the wings of a few raven demons had caught fire before they could escape, making the appendages utterly useless for flying; causing the demons to drop to the ground like burning moths.

Claude searched the skies frantically for Sebastian. His eyes quickly found Satan and Lilith; the largest of the raven demons. He found young Pandora and Lilim and Amon and Adramelech. Then his eyes found a familiar face carrying two infants in his arms as he stood at the edge of an open window. The demon glanced behind him, as if there was something there he was afraid of, and then he glanced to the ground—equally as frightened. Finally, he leaped from the fifth-story window, spread his wings and took flight. Claude quickly lost him as he joined the rest of the raven demons in their persistent circling.

A relieved smile spread across Claude's face, "Sebastian . . ."

The raven demons began to fly off to a towering hill in the distance; far away from their destroyed home, and Claude followed them. He didn't care if his father was somewhere inside the burning castle, nor did he care if any of his siblings had been caught in the flames. His mate and their children were alive, and that's all that mattered to him right now. Following closely behind him was his loyal maid, Claire.

The remaining members of the Lucifer family did a head-count shortly after landing. They had lost twelve members of their family, in total. Those numbers included the partners of some and the children of others. It was a tragedy greater than when the angels and the Grim Reapers had attacked. The ruler of Hell was without his throne; his family completely exposed and vulnerable to any attackers that chose to surface with the rest of the chaos that had occurred.

Claude received many glares as he came into the Lucifer family's sights, and he easily understood why. They thought he was in on the attack, and it would take a miracle for him to prove his innocence.

"Go away, spider!" one of them hissed, "We don't want you here!"

"Please, I need to find Michaelis," Claude pleaded, "I need to know that he's all right."

"You _started_ this fire in the first place, didn't you?!"

"No, I didn't . . ."

"How do we know you're not going to try to harm Michaelis, or any of his children?"

"I wouldn't . . ."

Many of Sebastian's siblings began hissing and growling at him; throwing in accusations and insults. The tension was so thick it couldn't be cut, until one voice broke through it at hellish shriek that drowned out the loud clamor.

"**_Enough_**!"

Every demon went silent. Many turned their heads into the direction the voice had come from with stunned expressions.

"Claude Faustus . . . come here."

The voice was slow and clam and it gave Claude chills because he knew it all too well. The crowd of raven demons parted as the spider made his way past them and approached the source of the voice.

Sebastian sat beside Satan, Lilith, and various siblings with Errapel and Rebekkah safely cradled in his ash-coated arms. He looked neither overjoyed nor angry or disappointed to see him. He held the blankest, most neutral expression Claude ever did see; and considering the fact that Sebastian usually showed more emotion than the spider demon ever could, the sight was concerning.

"I want your explanation, first." Sebastian said, "I want to know where the hell you've been and what they hell you know."

"Sebastian . . ." Claude started, "I swear to you I had no part in this. All of this . . . it was my father's doing."

"He lies!" one of the raven demons shouted angrily, which gained an enraged cry from several members of the family. Even Satan had his lips pealed back in disgust.

"No, I'm not lying!" Claude snarled, "I did leave the castle to search for my father, and he told me he was going to attack the palace and wipe out the Lucifer family."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Lilith growled, "Why would Crocell want to destroy the bond he worked so hard to build up, in the first place?"

"He told me that it was because . . ."

Sebastian was clearly not pleased with the abrupt pause in Claude's explanation. His eyes narrowed into a glare that could cut through steel, "Because _why_, Claude?"

"He told me it was because there would always be a Faustus that will hate a Lucifer and there will always be a Lucifer that will hate a Faustus. He said that not even the children Michaelis and I bore would end the feud. But I can't help but feel that there's more to it than just that."

"I know why," Satan spoke up, "It's because of my lineage. Crocell Faustus does not believe that a being that was once a heavenly angel is fit to rule Hell; that includes me, my children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, and even my great-great-grandchildren."

Sebastian's siblings relaxed, but Sebastian himself was still staring daggers into Claude.

"Tell me . . . do you regret abandoning us for the sake of your father?"

There was an acidity in his voice that was so powerful it could have melted Claude into a puddle. Claude knew he might as well be on Death's doorstep. He had given the raven demon a reason not to trust him; a reason to think that everything he had told his mate before was all a lie. Trying to mend it now was his only option left.

"I do . . . and I do not . . ." Claude said, "I know I've missed out on so much. I've missed all of the little milestones Errapel and Rebekkah have hit and I haven't shown them my love and kindness as a parent. But had I not searched for my father, I would have never found him, nor would I have found out what he was planning. I tried to stop him. The thought of losing you—the thought of him taking our children away—I was ready to kill him and anyone else I needed to prevent that from happening. Can you forgive me, Sebastian; my love?"

Sebastian raised a brow at him as if he were trying to snuff out a lie hidden somewhere in his words. But, eventually, he relieved a defeated sigh.

"I'll forgive you . . . but know this: do what you did again—leave us for no reason, whatsoever—I'll be the one to break off our pairing, and it will not be our children that die because of it!"

Claude gave a smirk, "Just what I would have expected form you, Michaelis."

He strode over to his mate and took Errapel into his arms. The infant gave the spider demon a sour look before curling his lips back and letting out a fearsome snarl; fearsome for an infant, at least. Sebastian and his siblings let out a synchronized chain of laughter as Claude's eyes widened.

"Whoa! When did he start doing that?"

Sebastian's face had turned bright red from his hysterical laughter, "About four days ago. Looks like I wasn't the only one displeased by your disappearance, Claude."

A servant suddenly made his way through the crowd and bowed lowly at the raven demon and spider demon. It was Sven Angelus; the servant that had once tried to kill Claude in his sleep. He presented them with a dagger.

"Prince Michaelis, I bring you the cursed dagger that Crocell Faustus was carrying when he entered the castle."

"Crocell had been in the castle?" Satan inquired, "When?"

"Not long before the whole palace went up in flames, I'm afraid. There are a lot of Spider demons that did not escape their own attack, and Sir Crocell was one of the corpses I counted."

Sebastian took the dagger into his hands, "What was the late Archduke doing wielding a dagger like this?"

Sven confessed that he been following Crocell as he searched the castle for Sebastian. The spider demon had actually come close to killing him as he did manage to find the prince's bedchambers and was mere feet away from him before the Prince jumped out the window. When that happened, Sven choose the opportunity to attack Crocell from behind; grabbing the dagger and stabbing him until he moved no more.

"You were very brave, then, Sven Angelus." Sebastian remarked, "I'm in your debt for saving my life."

"You don't owe me a thing, you're Highness." Sven stated, "I was merely doing what I'd been instructed to do."

"Eh?"

"I ordered Sven to make sure you were okay." Satan explained, "You mother was worried sick about you."

Claude bowed to Sven, "I cannot thank you enough for protecting my mate in my absence. Thank you."

"Lift your head up, sir." Sven said, "I could not have allowed my master to die; it would be a complete disgrace to my position."

"What is your position, if I may ask?"

"Sven gave a smile, "I am a butler, sir."

Claude nodded.

"Indeed. You are simply one Hell of a butler."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It took six years for the remaining members of the Lucifer family to completely rebuild their burnt-down castle, and a few months after that for Sebastian and Claude to decide they wanted another child. The two disappeared from the palace one night and returned early the next morning. A few weeks later, it was announced that Sebastian was once again pregnant.

Errapel and Rebekkah, having been told they were about to be big siblings, were excited for the arrival of their new brother or sister. Their personalities were now quite distinct from each other. Errapel was the exact definition of a prince. He held stoic expressions that would only melt away when he was around his fun-loving sister. He was able to carry himself with pride and grace, but when it narrowed down to his sister, he was nothing more than a playful, yet over protective six-year-old.

Rebekkah was the opposite. Her mind was always focused on playing and teasing. She loved to play-fight and hide and climb on top of things, but she held a soft, caring, nurturing side that Errapel loved, and she loved Errapel. Now that there was another child on the way, she knew there'd be another one for her to love.

But still . . . Errapel and Rebekkah didn't quite understand it when Sebastian vanished along with Claude one day. Lilith was with them and told them that their baby brother or sister would be born soon. The siblings spent hours waiting and worrying. They didn't understand why the process took so long or why they couldn't even be there while it happened. However, Errapel knew that if they weren't _that _involved, then they didn't really need to know just yet.

To pass the time, Errapel and Rebekkah played in the garden; messing with the flowers and watching the gardeners as they worked.

"What do you hope mommy's having?" Rebekkah asked her brother as they held hands walking through the rose patch.

"I hope it's a girl." Errapel stated.

"Why?"

"Because . . . I like to make sure my girls are all safe."

"I hope it's a girl, too. I want a little sister. But if it's a boy, I don't think I'll mind."

"Me either."

Suddenly Rebekkah's gaze cut across the garden and she pointed, "It's daddy!"

The two siblings raced towards Claude as he appeared in the garden.

"Hey, you two!" he said with a grin as he wrapped the children in his arms.

"Is mommy okay?" Errapel asked and a slightly worried tone.

"Mommy is just fine. Just a little tire, that's all."

"Do we have a baby brother or sister?"

"You have a little sister, and mommy and I decided you two can be the ones to give her a name.

Errapel and Rebekkah's faces lit up with intense happiness and excitement.

"Can we see the baby now?" Rebekkah asked.

Claude nodded, "Of course, but remember; mommy's trying to sleep, so try to be quiet."

The two child-demons nodded and followed Claude into the castle. They tip-toed their way into Sebastian and Claude's bedchambers. Sebastian lay deeply asleep in the center of the bed; clearly exhausted from his recent ordeal. Errapel and Rebekkah did their best to sit down on the bed without disturbing the raven demon's sleep while Claude strode over to a nearby cradle and lifted a tiny bundle out of it.

The newborn was placed gently into Errapel's arms first.

"She's so tiny!" he whispered in excited, but worried tone.

"I know," Claude replied, "She was born just a little bit early, so she has a lot of growing to do."

The infant bore the same milky-white skin as he siblings did. Her hair, however, was an off shade of white; like the rays of the full moon on a clear night.

"Why isn't her hair black like ours?" Rebekkah asked.

"Some people in my family had white hair." Claude explained, "It runs in the family."

Errapel passed the little bundle to Rebekkah, "What are we going to call her?"

"I like Dalia." Rebekkah said.

"I like Rose."

Claude hummed, "How about we combine the names; Dalia Rose."

"That's pretty."

"I like it." Rebekkah added.

A blank look suddenly washed over Errapel's face and Claude raised a curious brow, "What's the matter, son?"

"Nothing . . . but is it okay to make a forever-promise?"

Claude smiled, "It's okay, but remember; once you make a promise, you can never, ever break it."

"Because I want to always be there for her, and for Rebekkah. I want to make sure she's always safe and that we will always keep each other secrets and our promises. I want to be the best big brother she'll ever have."

"And I promise to hold her hand on the cold, cloudy, and rainy days of her life." Rebekkah said, "And I want to be her best friend, even if we fight sometimes."

"I think those are all very wonderful promises to make." Claude said with a smile.

Dalia Rose's eyes blinked open to reveal those of a bright gold color. Her eyes settled on Rebekkah and then Errapel and then they slipped closed again and drifted off to sleep under the protection of her siblings.

_"And once a forever promise is made, it should be locked deep within the heart, but thought about every day, because you can never take one back and it should never, ever be broken."_

**_ -BlueRaven666_**


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